There's no hatred between Rich Rodriguez and Charlie Weis like there was in the days of Knut Rockne and Fielding Yost or Bo Schembechler and Lou Holtz.

But Weis and Rodriguez have something even more intriguing in common. They both need this game. And they need it bad.

The sky is no longer falling for Rich Rodriguez after he took care of business last weekend against Western Michigan. No one may truly realize the important of the "Rich Rod-riguez!" cheer from the student section last weekend. The fans showed their confidence in RichRod, and Bill Martin was definitely listening.

With that being said, this matchup against the Fighting Irish is probably the best litmus test of how this season will turn out in Rodriguez's second year. The Wolverines play two cupcakes in Eastern Michigan and Indiana in weeks three and four, so with a win, Michigan will most likely head to East Lansing 4-0.

Confidence like that can mean a great deal to a freshman quarterback.

And speaking of quarterbacks, this game will again weigh heavy on the shoulders of both teams quarterbacks as Jimmy Clausen, now a third-year starter, needs to prove he can fulfill Notre Dame's ridiculously high expectations. (Yeah, I'm looking at you, Lou Holtz). Meanwhile, Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson will be facing a much more experienced defense than they saw last weekend.

The Irish secondary returns all four of its starters, and although there aren't any All-Americans in that group, it's still one of its deepest and most solid position groups. The opposite can be said about the Wolverines' secondary, who did a bit to silence the critics last weekend, until breakdowns in the second half had a lot of Wolverine nation worrying.

Donovan Warren looked tired in the second half against Western, making easy mistakes while garnering three penalties. And while Boubacar Cissoko looked pretty great at times, he can't do it all. It doesn't help that he doesn't have much behind him. J.T. Floyd slacked on some coverage last weekend and allowed Western's only touchdown of the game.

I have to admit, I'm still worried about the defensive backfield.

I realize that I hyped Tim Hiller as much as possible last weekend, and yes, I haven't had the same regard for Jimmy Clausen all offseason, but there's a glaring difference between the two.

Hiller lost 75% of his receiving corps from last season. They were running empty on wideouts.

Clausen, on the other hand, has possibly the best receiving corps on Michigan's schedule. With Michael Floyd, Golden Tate, and Kyle Rudolph at his disposal, Clausen has three potential NFL targets running his routes. And with a less-than-stellar secondary that has yet to prove itself, that's concerning.

To further the comparison, Hiller and the Western Michigan offense has never been known for their explosive plays. If you watch the tape from last weekend, Hiller rarely ever through to the second level. Clausen is a very different quarterback with some very different receivers who love to go deep. And he has the arm to do it.

Yes, everyone has seen the highlights from that game and slobbered over Clausen finally living up to expectations.

Since then, Clausen has yet to be challenged by a legitimate BCS team, and tomorrow is the day that it finally happens.

In that sense, I feel like Clausen and the Irish have the advantage against Michigan's defense. Not only will he be looking to continue on his tear of ridiculously inflated passing numbers, but he wants to be a big-time quarterback. Bad. And it's been awhile since the Wolverines have been able to silence a big-time QB.

The most important aspect of this matchup for Michigan will be the unpredictability of Greg Robinson's defensive schemes.

The hybrid linebackers need to be used to their full potential, and Robinson has to hope for as much blazing speed as possible to either rush Clausen or keep up in coverage with someone like Rudolph underneath. Craig Roh will be expected to improve on his performance from last weekend, and the defense as a whole will be leaning on Brandon Graham more than they have in awhile.

Of all the impressive facets of the defense last weekend, the most impressive was the Wolverines ability to rush the quarterback. And although Clausen is poised in the pocket, Brandon Graham will erase the poise of any college quarterback when he's barreling at you with reckless abandon. Hiller, last weekend, is the prototypical example.

The Keys to Success: Everyone knows that this will be a tough game for Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson. The freshmen won't have the same success they did last weekend because the Irish defense is much more experienced and simply better all around.

If they do have the same success, then Wolverine nation should be anointing Forcier and Robinson as the ones who will lead Michigan to the promise land.

Robinson's defense will be the key in this matchup with confusing formations that hopefully will throw off Clausen's routes.

What I can say for sure is that Michigan will be much more poised than they were last season. All you have to do is watch this video from last season and know what I'm talking about. It's clearly made by an ND fan, but still, the results are disappointing:

But there is one glaring advantage for the Wolverines. Fullback James Aldridge is out for the game. It's been toned down in a number of other previews for this weekend, but Aldridge has been a huge part of the Irish gameplan. The defensive ends for Nevada were neutralized by Notre Dame's blocking, and without Aldridge as a safety valve in the run game, Clausen may be forced to pass more than he did against Nevada.

The Wolverines run game, on the other hand, will hope that Carlos Brown has it in him for a Northwestern-esque performance. The Irish allowed 7.3 yards per attempt on first down against Nevada last weekend, and if the offense keeps in position to run the ball on first down, Brown could see enormous success in his second start in place of Brandon Minor.

If Brown begins to struggle, expect Minor to come in sparingly for a more powerful approach.

The Bottom Line: Both teams needs this one bad. Last year, Notre Dame was 0-2, trying to keep from losing three straight to open the season. Michigan had one cupcake win and a tough loss, but needed a win badly. This year, both are undefeated, and need a marquee win to boost the confidence of their squads.

This one will be a shootout, one that Michigan is capable of winning if they keep their poise.

And it was something that Forcier said last weekend that gives me confidence to pick Michigan this week:

Forcier insisted he wasn't nervous in his first college game, adding he never has been and never will be on the football field.

If he can use the home field advantage, I see the Wolverines winning this game in a shootout.